Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Project statement
The goal of this project was to create a universal
model and consistent language for identifying,
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delineate some of the concepts and mechanisms critical juggler and the juggled as a single phenomenon, the
to functionality-centric applications. juggler himself has to simultaneously consider each ball
Ultimately I devised my own model by adding as a single object and as part of a whole.
additional layers of granularity and meaning to the Therefore, the ability to consistently create superior
traditional three-tier approach. During the course of solutions requires the designer to adopt a method for
writing, I discovered various weaknesses or deconstructing the overall experience into a series of
inconsistencies in the model that required both minor smaller, interrelated problems that can be solved in a
and major changes to the ordering and definition of the conscious, consistent, and repeatable manner. This
individual layers of the model. Except for a minor allows the designer to proceed with an understanding
change to one layer of the model, it has remained of discrete interface elements as well an appreciation of
stable since the book was published. their influence on the whole. This type of method also
Since I devised and adopted this model, it has supports the consistent prioritization of design and
become fundamental to how I approach and evaluate engineering efforts by placing individual design
different design problems and solutions. Although I considerations on the continuum of foundational to
have had limited opportunity to use it on new projects, supporting.
it continues to prove its worth as a teaching, To understand the value of such a model, it’s
communications, and diagnostic tool. instructive to look at another form of multi-dimensional
In addition, since the publication of “Making the communication: movies.
Web Work”, I have heard from other designers,
engineers, usability researchers, and educators who Dissecting Cinema: Models at the Movies
have found the model a useful tool for structuring the Although an audience experiences a movie as a
design process, interpreting usability findings, and single, coherent, unified expression, the process of
discussing design issues. creating a movie requires the filmmaker to understand
Finally, forums such as this one have provided me and manipulate a number of different elements and
the opportunity to further explore the applicability of aspects individually. In addition, these elements tend to
the model to mediums beyond the Web. build on and reinforce one another, necessitating a
particular sequence of activity and creative decisions.
Practice details Applying the traditional structure-behavior-
Like other sophisticated, multi-dimensional forms presentation model of interactive design, a movie can
of communication, interactive media requires the similarly be dissected along the lines of story-
designer to harmonize and balance a variety of differing production-presentation. Those three tiers can
and often opposing concerns. Even though a user subsequently be divided into nine layers as shown in
encounters an interactive product as a single, unified figure 1.
experience, the designer has to construct and
understand the experience one element at a time. Put
another way, although spectators may experience the
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TIER 1: STRUCTURE
The Structure tier comprises the three lowest levels
of the user interface: the conceptual model, the task
flow, and the organizational model. Because the
abstract nature of these layers makes it impossible for
Figure 1: By deconstructing the components of a users to readily “touch” them, few users are ever
movie into individual layers, it is possible to better consciously aware of them. However, because they
understand how the various aspects of a film work form the conceptual and organizational basis of the
together to create a cohesive experience.
experience they are ultimately the most important
Although most people would never describe a aspects of the design.
movie in this way, they would surely notice if a
Layer 1: The Conceptual Model
particular film was inconsistent across these layers. For
The conceptual model is the most fundamental
example, once a film has been identified as comedy,
aspect of the interface, describing the relationship
action, or horror, only certain types of characters,
between the interface and the outside world. The
action, or music are acceptable. Similarly, the purpose
purpose of the conceptual model is to draw on the
of the outer layers, Effects, Editing, or Score for
user’s past experiences so they can readily understand
example, is to support and augment the inner layers.
basic operations and accurately predict functionality.
Approached this way, the filmmaker is able to
recast the overwhelming challenge of creating a
finished film into a series of prioritized, interrelated
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the foundational layers any more than special effects Putting the Model to Work
can make up for a bad story.
To better understand the utility and application of
The critical message of these three axes is evident: the model it is instructive to use it to deconstruct a
Although the foundational components of the Structure complex interface such as that shown in figure 3.
tier generate the smallest amount of direct user Although many elements of the example are readily
feedback, they are also the elements that have the recognizable by an experienced user of the Web, there
greatest impact on usability and engineering effort. are in fact a multitude of different concepts, behaviors,
In addition, although products should always meet controls, and visual presentations, each of which
some minimal level of visual and behavioral represents a conscious decision or unconscious decision
sophistication, incomplete or rushed solutions in the on the part of the designer. By using the model
Presentation tier and even the Behavior can more easily described here, it is possible to analyze and understand
be fixed in a subsequent release. Therefore, for new those decisions and to evaluate their impact on the
products or projects with limited time or resources, the overall experience.
design effort should initially focus on the lower layers of
the interface. Layer 1: Conceptual Model
The model also holds an important implication for The most instantly recognizable conceptual model
interpreting usability studies. Because users are most of this interface is a tabular grid of information
aware of the Presentation tier, a majority of their displayed in rows and columns. Once a user grasps this
comments are likely to be focused on this area. fundamental motif, they can easily understand the
However, because of technical flexibility and relatively main purpose and function of the page. In addition, if
lower impact on overall usability and satisfaction, such they are experienced with other software
comments or criticisms should not be weighted as implementations of row/column grids, they should also
heavy as comments or confusion over more be able to infer other common functionality such as
foundational components of the interface. For example, sorting and editing.
if a designer or researcher concludes that a problem In addition to the tabular grid model, the page also
exists with the conceptual model, it is critical to address requires the user to understand and grasp the
the issue as soon as possible since any weakness in a conceptual model of a page as represented on the
foundational layer will echo through the remainder of World Wide Web. Without this conceptual framework it
the interface. would be very difficult for them to operate the various
interface controls such as the links, buttons, and tabs.
Fundamental to any interaction with this interface
is an understanding and knowledge of these two
conceptual models, the tabular grid and the Web page.
Similarly, these two models underlie the technical
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implementation of this application and are embedded in the navigation areas and the main table. By definition
that implementation. behaviors in this layer do not permanently affect stored
data and in fact, the behavior of every navigation and
Layer 2: Task Flow
control element in this page is part of this layer. One of
Although it is not represented in this single page,
the critical decisions contained in this layer is the
the task flow of the example relies on a hub structure.
relationship between the view and account selectors
The hub structure follows a launching pad metaphor
and whether or not they should be represented as links,
where a single page serves as a leaping off point to
menus, or some combination of the two.
single page forms, which in turn, bring the user back to
the center of the hub. In this specific example, clicking Layer 5: Editing and Manipulation
the Edit Account button takes the user to a form where Although this page contains a variety of form
they can edit properties of the selected account before elements, it does not contain any functionality that
being brought back to the page shown here. results in permanent changes to stored data. As a
In addition to hubs, Web applications also make result, it does not have any effect on the Editing and
use of two other types of task flows, wizards and Manipulation layer of the interface.
guides.
Layer 6: User Assistance
Layer 3: Organizational Model Although this page contains a link to the Help page,
The most conspicuous aspect of the organizational it does not contain any specific elements of the User
model shown in this example can be seen in the Assistance layer. This is consistent with it making use
primary navigation area represented by the blue tab of a well understood conceptual model and not having
bar near the top of the screen. In this case, the any behaviors related to the Editing and Manipulation
designer has organized the overall site by financial layer. Were the page to rely on a less common form of
practice, further subdividing the investments practice data presentation, it might be necessary to include
as shown in the gray bar. In addition, they have instructional text or some other types of user aid.
organized this specific application by accounts and
views as shown in the selector area on the left side and Layer 7: Layout
the menu labeled View. The example uses a simple two-column layout with
Finally, they have made specific choices regarding a banner spanning both columns at the top of the page.
what types of data to display with each of the views The primary column and data grid dominates the layout
contained in the View menu. In the case of this with a subordinate column located on the left-hand
particular view, they have chosen to display seven side. This is consistent with the behavioral relationship
different fields as well as three summary values. between the columns where the left-hand column
functions as selector, determining what data is
Layer 4: Viewing and Navigation presented in the primary column.
Elements of the Viewing and Navigation layer are
evident in the myriad of links and buttons displayed in
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Decisions made in the Layout layer are also evident Applying the Model to Different Mediums
in the placement of the main navigation areas and the
location of the buttons. Further evidence of the model’s utility can be seen
by using it to illustrate the relative complexity of an
Layer 8: Style interface, regardless of the interactive medium. By
The elements of the Style layer are visible in the altering the width of each layer in the diagram, the
logo, the imagery in the upper-right corner, the color unique problem areas of various interfaces can be
scheme, and font choices. One of the more conspicuous made visible, making it possible to more accurately
choices is the decision to use standard HTML/system allocate skills, resources, and time.
buttons for the Refresh Holdings and Edit Account Figure 4, 5, 6, and 7 illustrate the model applied to
buttons. Although the visual presentation of the button various products operating in different interactive
leads the user to believe that they the effect data, the mediums.
buttons actually function as nothing but navigation
devices. Clicking one of the buttons takes the user to
the appropriate page to edit the indicated information.
Fortunately, this choice is readily modified and a
change could be quickly made based on user feedback.
Layer 9: Text
Design decisions contained in the Text layer of this
page are clearly present in button names, link names,
and column titles. Fortunately, the choices for most of
the issues in this layer are relatively obvious thanks to
the strong conceptual underpinnings of the rest of the
interface.
Figure 4: Interface for an Automated Teller Machine. Figure 5: Interface for a DVD Menu System.
As illustrated here, the focus of an ATM interface is The menu system of modern DVDs allows the user
on task flow, navigation, and editing. The Task Flow to set a variety of options and navigate to different
layer has some complexity since the kiosk environment program segments. This requires an interface that is
of the medium requires step-by-step operations. relatively complex in terms of the organizational model
Similarly, there are various interface elements to and navigation operations but completely lacking in
support navigation as well as a minimal amount of editing operations or user assistance. These types of
input validation as reflected in the User Assistance interfaces are also highly dependent on a sophisticated
layer. Finally, the primitive visual nature of the medium visual presentation as shown by the weight of the Style
leaves little room for the Presentation tier. layer.
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The rich collection of content and functionality Figure 7: Interface of Microsoft Word
found at Amazon.com requires an interface focused on The mature feature set of Microsoft Word is
the organizational model and navigation. Although the supported by an interface emphasizing the Behavior
checkout process and ability to store addresses and tier. However, the ability of the desktop environment to
other personal information results in some complexity provide direct manipulation techniques reduces the
in the Editing and Manipulation layer, the User complexity of the task flow by placing most operations
Assistance layer remains relatively thin. Finally, in palettes or dialog boxes. In addition, the interface
although Amazon.com has a clearly distinguished style, requires a rich set of viewing and navigation behaviors
the visual sophistication of their interface is relatively to support the enormous number of modifications to
low. the interface itself such as the manipulation of toolbars,
document zooming, and support for multiple windows
onto the same document. Finally, because the visual
presentation of desktop applications is largely dictated
by the operating system, the Presentation tier is
relatively thin, particularly in the Style layer.
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